by Hotter Edge
But Hudson never suffered from hesitation like she did. He was never afraid to open his heart. He reached out and cupped her face. “Forgive me, my wife.”
And all she wanted was to erase the last two years. Erase everything that had come before so they could start again. So she smiled into his palm and finally let the tears fall from her eyes. “Always, my husband.”
***
Hudson could've lain there and gazed at his wife for days if he had his way. Gazed at hair that reminded him of snow or wispy clouds that decorated the sky. At eyes that were made up of the clearest blue. He understood now, when he’d made the trip with Vonn to the ocean, why the beach had agitated him instead of comforted. Why every time he’d looked out over the purest of any water he'd ever seen, it had caused a longing in him that rivaled his body’s need to breathe. Hudson had finally cut their trip short so he could get back to the calm of the dying desert.
He understood now, his heart had never forgotten her. In his heart, she’d always been his. Funny, how the whole time his memory had failed, his heart had railed against him. Now that his memory was back, in the enemy’s house, naked with a woman who was claimed by another—a sure way to get his head removed from his body—his heart had never been calmer.
My wife.
And she was, but he could never keep her safe if they were in Syon’s house.
He got out of bed and reached for his clothes. “Get dressed. If we hurry we can still make it back to Vonn before full morning. We’ll need every advantage if we have any chance of making it.”
His wife's face reappeared through the hole of her shirt, and he watched with longing as she flipped her hair out from underneath the collar.
“I've arranged a passage through the portal. We can't stay here on Earth. There’s no place we can hide that Syon won't be able to find us.”
“But aren’t the soldiers on Dark Planet still loyal to The Way?”
Hudson finished putting on his boots and peered out the window. “Most are, but the Rebellion is making a comeback on Dark Planet, and I believe we can count on them to protect us. Especially if you whip up your special brew of miracle drug.”
He threw her a smile and was glad to see she was already dressed and ready to go. “I'll go first. There are a few foot holds on the side were you can jimmy down, but if you fall, I'll be there to catch—”
“I'm not going.”
Hudson actually looked around thinking there was someone else in the room who’d spoken since he couldn't believe Lake would say such a thing.
“What?” He must've misheard.
“I can't go. I—”
He didn't let her finish. “Why are you hesitating? You can’t mean to stay here? Choose him?”
“No.” She reached for him. “You know me better than that. After everything I've been through, how could you think I'd choose this man over any life I could have with you? But I won't leave my son. Not even for you.”
“You mean his son.” He hated that it made a difference, but it did.
“I mean our son. Hudson, don't you remember?”
It was as if someone had looped a rope around his neck and pulled tight. He couldn't get any air past his throat. His son?
He’d thought he had regained all his memory, but how could he have forgotten something so important? He searched the black spaces of his mind, but there were no images of a little boy. “I don't...I can't...”
Lake smiled, and shook her head. “You wouldn't have. I had gotten pregnant before the siege. There's no doubt he’s your son. You both have the exact same eyes.”
Hudson struggled trying to wrap his mind around the details. “So then he is...”
“Almost two.”
Hudson didn’t hesitate. It would be harder. So much harder, but what else could he do? Leave his son? Leave Lake again? He'd almost lost her once. He'd never give her up again. “Go and get him. We can still make it.”
“What?” Lake shook her head. “You're crazy. Even two adults and a very capable ten-year-old would have a slim chance of making it through the city, across the desert, and then on the other side to Dark Planet.”
“I know.”
“I don't even know if a baby has ever made it through the portal alive. No one has ever tried.”
“I know.”
“I can't risk his life on those kinds of odds. I just can't.”
“You have to.”
“No, I don't. I can't. You don't understand. Our boy is special. He's critical somehow to the Prophesy. He's important. More important than either of us.”
“The Prophesy is an old wives’ tale, a hopeful bedtime story women tell their children to make them feel better. The only one who’ll save us is ourselves.”
“You're wrong.” She shook her head.
“But what if I'm right?”
“Yes, but what if I'm right?” she pleaded. “It could mean hundreds of lives, if not thousands. I can't risk it.”
The rope around his neck was already tight, and now someone had thrown him in a muddy river with both hands and feet tied behind his back. “I won't leave you, Lake.”
“Well, you can't stay here. Syon could be home at any time.”
“Go get the boy.”
“Hudson—”
He grabbed both her arms and shook her. “Listen to me. Listen very hard. If you’re right. If this boy is special, then his end won't be tonight. If his life is important, and it's already destined then he won't die tonight. And if he really is part of the Prophesy then what better place would there be than with people who can help him fulfill his role—the Rebels. So if you think you’re right, prove it, prove your faith. Get the boy, and let's go because either way, we’re leaving.”
Lake nodded and turned to leave. Within a few minutes she was back with a good-sized bundle on her back, secured with a blanket. Hudson could see the side of a chubby face nestled into Lake's neck, a shock of curly dark hair sticking straight up.
He looked down at the bundle. “Will he cry?”
“Where's your faith?”
He gave her a look, but really what choice did they have?
“Wait, one more second.” She rushed around throwing items into a light weight sack.
He groaned. He swore his wife would make him late to his own funeral.
She threw the bag to him. “You first, then I’ll follow.”
In the end, he hadn’t had to worry. They climbed down with no problems, and the boy seemed safe and content to stay strapped to Lake's back even as they both they ran into the night.
Dawn was just making its appearance as they entered Portal City. Hudson did his damnedest to make sure they kept to the shadows. The last thing they needed was anyone remembering two adults and a baby running through the city. Any baby, even a boy baby, was rare enough for people to take notice.
Hudson led Lake to a building where he rented a small room shared with Vonn. The place was dark, leaked when it rain, and had a huge rat problem, but at least it was a roof over their heads and a place to sleep. A sure far cry from Black Creek Manor.
Vonn was just where Hudson had left him—asleep and totally dead to the world. Only a child, young and carefree, could sleep that sound.
“Vonn.” He reached out and shook his shoulder. In a flash, a silver blade greeted him and was leveled at his throat. “It's all right. It's Hudson.”
Vonn's sleepy stare cleared, and a wobbly smile appeared. “Sorry, didn't hear you come in.”
Hudson smiled and couldn't help the sudden swell of pride in his chest. Vonn had listened to what Hudson had taught him. Hudson could do the same for his son. “That's quite all right. Quite all right. Look, I have a surprise for you.”
Hudson stepped out of the way and let Vonn see his sister. A moment of confusion quickly fell by the wayside as pure joy claimed his features. “Lakie!” he said, jumping into her arms.
Lake enfolded him in her warm embrace and buried her face in his hair. Hudson let the two have their m
oment while he quickly went around and gathered whatever weapons and food they could carry.
He threw an extra shirt at Vonn. “Put that on. It's chilly in the desert at night and we’re making a run for the Portal. We're leaving in one minute.”
Vonn nodded, and it spoke true to his training that he was dressed in all black and boots on with time to spare.
The ragtag group made their way through the dirty streets as the grey sky lightened to blue. Hudson stopped at the edge of the city and gazed around at the long, five-mile stretch of desert land ahead of them. If they made it to the Portal, and the guards wouldn't let them cross, there’d be no way back. With Syon at their backs and guards to their front, they’d be caught in no-man’s land for sure. Of course, they could always be shot on sight since a few of the less than reputable Portal guards traded with the Rebels and had more access to bullets. Worse still, was being taken captive, and he knew for sure that a bullet to the head was preferable to an Elder prison.
But they wouldn't know until they tried. It was forward or forward.
In the distance, Hudson could make out small, black dots that moved across the white sand. Some he knew were wagons, but most were just merchants with heavy loads on their backs seeking their fortune in trading with the soldiers of Dark Planet.
Trading was good business for a man who could afford the hefty price of the Stamp of Passage and didn’t mind the discomfort of traveling through the worm-hole in space. It was simple, Dark Planet had the weaponry, and Earth had the raw materials. One planet, it seemed, couldn’t survive without the other.
Before Hudson had gone after Lake, he had liquidated all his assets in order to procure three Stamps of Passage. Now, with a baby along, and Hudson being much later than he’d originally thought, matters were a bit more complicated. The soldiers guarding the Portal were said to be ambiguous in their loyalties, which suited Hudson just fine. It was common knowledge that a hefty bribe and an owed favor could get just about anyone across. Hudson looked over at his new family and hoped the saying held true.
But they had to get to the portal before they could see if they’d be allowed to cross.
Their best bet was to catch up with the merchants who were stopped at the check point. Try to blend in with the crowd as much as a man, wife, and two children could blend. Hudson looked over at his family. Lake’s wide eyes were strained with worry. Vonn was pale, and his bottom lip had a slight tremble to it that if Vonn had been aware, he'd be mortified.
The only one who didn’t look terrified was his son, who had a pinched scowl on his face and a thumb stuck in his mouth.
“Why are we stopping?” Lake’s face was flushed from their earlier run, teeth gnawing on her lower lip with worry.
Why? Because fear gripped Hudson. He was responsible for three other lives besides his own, and he wasn't sure if making a run for the Portal was the best choice.
Too late now.
“Give me the boy.” He held out his hands.
“Why?” Hesitation crossed her features, but Hudson didn't take it personally. Being suspicious was just part of Lake's nature.
“This is where we start running, and it will be easier for me to carry our son than you.”
He saw Lake's deep inhale of breath. “This is the first time you’ve called him our son.”
“I know.”
Lake untied the blanket and quickly arranged the boy on Hudson's back.
“His name is Rider. Agon Rider. I thought you should know. Just in case.”
Fear slammed into Hudson. He was so close to having it all. Yet, so close to losing everything. He’d thought he’d lost everything when his home and men burned to the ground. But Lake, Vonn, and his son were everything. Nothing else mattered.
In a fierceness born of desperation and the firsthand knowledge of what life was without his everything, Hudson reached out for Lake and kissed her.
With both hands he captured her face, angled her mouth so he could kiss her for real. Lake grabbed on to his shirt and pulled him closer. She opened her mouth wide and poured every heartache, sorrow, and desperation into this one moment. Both of them knowing, it could very well be their last.
Hudson broke away, but didn't release her. He needed her to hear him. “I love you. Since the first day I met you, there’s been nothing else, but you.”
Lake shook her head. “No, we are not going to say our goodbyes now. Tell me you love me when we get to the other side. And if you're good.” She smiled. “You might even get a declaration back.”
He nodded. If that wasn’t motivation, he didn’t know what was. “Let's go.”
And they started running across the harsh landscape with nothing more than the weight on their backs and the hope in their hearts.
Chapter Sixteen
Syon was pleased with himself. He’d thought he handled the situation well. Calmly. He hadn’t lost his temper when his house guard told him his wife and the boy-child were gone. No, he’d kept his calm long enough to hear the man’s whole story, and then he'd passed judgment. Granted the judgment was a slow thrust of his sword into the soft belly of the guard, but those were the consequences. If people didn't do their job it wasn't Syon's fault that they lost their life.
He hadn’t troubled with wiping his sword before he turned and made his way up the staircase. Why bother when the blade would only get dirty again.
The fact that he was running up the stairs only made the throb in his temples worse. He didn't run. Didn't hurry. And yet, here he was running from empty room to empty room. He paused in his wife's room. The stillness seemed exaggerated. Loud even. He looked around the room at the expensive mirror and dark, wood dresser, a small fortune in furnishings alone. Hadn't he taken care of her? He’d never let it be said he couldn't provide for his wife. She’d had every luxury, and all he’d asked in return was a little hard work, and the microbiotics. At least he still had a good supply—kept an ample amount on his person at all times. He’d never trust his chance at immortality to anyone, much less a woman.
Lake should be grateful he’d let her and her brat live within his household. It had been an act of kindness on his part, since he no longer needed her. He’d had her write down the formula, and it was only out of his benevolence—and his lack of patience for the tedious task—that he’d allowed her to live. That, and the bump in status he received for owning a wife, that had kept her useful.
The room reeked of male, sex, and sweat. Syon pulled back the covers on her bed and saw the visual evidence that his wife and her lover left behind.
So she wasn't alone. Stupid wife. He’d known she’d never leave her brat, but to take up with another man was just asking Syon to come after her. Maybe she was? He'd never slept with his wife. Wasn't interested. But maybe that had been a mistake. Maybe it was time to turn his special brand of attention towards his wife. In hindsight, he might've become a little too preoccupied with the going-ons in the training camps.
The pain in his head worsened at the thought of what had distracted him. One particular boy had been his favorite, but someone had helped the boy escape. Syon had been searching for him for over two weeks and now the trail had finally grown cold.
Maybe it was time for another distraction. He left the room and made his way downstairs to the locked cabinet that held his guns. With his fist he broke the glass, not even feeling the jagged shards that sliced his skin. He grabbed his pistol, checked the number of bullets—two. More than enough.
Stupid wife. Didn't she know that if she’d escaped on her own she would’ve had a much better chance of blending in with another household as a slave or field worker? There might’ve been a chance that he would’ve never found her. But really, a man with a woman and baby in tow was just too obvious. And way too obvious was where they were heading.
He called to the boy who stood waiting for him outside his house. “Saddle my horse. I’m heading to the Portal.”
***
The portal loomed before them—a circular sw
irling mass of colors as tall as a full, grown oak and three times as wide. Hudson had never been this close to the portal before, never had a need. He’d heard the energy coming off the kaleidoscope of blacks and purples was intense, but nothing could’ve prepared him for the real thing. A pushing force, similar to a strong windstorm, pulled on their clothes and hair. Even thirty feet away the low roar the vortex emitted vibrated his bones and hurt his ears.
They were near the end of the line waiting to get through the check point. The crowd had died down, most going through the portal, some being sent back across the desert.
No one in their small group made a sound, except Rider, he'd started to cry the moment they'd gotten close enough to hear the low hum of the worm-hole.
They inched their way forward in line, the process seeming to take forever. Hudson looked behind to check the progress of the lone rider who was fast coming up behind them.
Without a doubt he knew it was Syon, and by the look on Lake's face, so did she.
They were almost to the front. The soldier inspecting each stamp was thorough in his job, checking packs, holding the papers up to the sunlight. His meticulousness did not bode well for Hudson. A man who took pride in his job was not easy to bribe.
Hudson swallowed hard and watched his wife's hand tremble as she pushed her hair out of her face for the hundredth time. “Listen to me,” she said.
He didn't want to. He knew what she was going to say, but his mind was already made up. She should just save her breath for going through the portal.
“It's me he wants," Lake continued, ignoring the shake of his head. “Take the boys. Go through. You can come back for me later when they’re safe. This time I promise, I don't care how long it takes, I promise I won't lose faith. I'll wait for you.”
Hudson fought the strange urge to laugh. Like he’d be that much of a fool for a second time. He'd fought so hard to get his family back together; did Lake really think he'd give it all up again? He was about to tell her to go to hell, in the most kindest way possible, when the trader in front of them was waved through the check point and it became their turn.